FEMINISM- WORK, FAMILY
AND INTIMATE PARTNER
VIOLENCE (IPV)
LAURA X. VALDERRAMA
WORK
The professional
woman: independent,
ambitious, self confident
Women’s Work
In 1890, more women began to enter the labour
force as clerk workers mostly and since then
continued to grow to other careers
Despite cultural pressures, the number of wage
earning women continues to rise. As material
expectations increased for house and consumer
goods, families began to rely on women’s wages to
keep up
The Women’s Movement emerged and was a strong
force for anti sex-discrimination laws that opened
occupations formerly closed to females
Women’s involvement in the workforce
really took off in the 20th century.
Thornton and Fredman 1983; U.S. Census Bureau 2012c, Table 587.
Women’s Occupations
Occupational segregation: pronounced
tendency for men and women to be employed
in different types of jobs
Jobs typically held by men and women
differ within major occupations with men
more likely to hold upper level jobs within
each sector with the women receiving
lower pay
Women are more likely to have the lowerpaying jobs
The Female-Male Wage Gap
Wage Gap – The difference in earning between
male and females
This varies depending on occupation and tends to be greater in the more elite, higher paying jobs
Men continue to dominate corporate America
compared to that of non white males and coloured
women
Lamanna, M.A., Reidmann, A., & Stewart, S. (2015). Marriages, families, and relationships: making choices in a diverse society (12th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
For instance, in 2011 women corporate chief
executive officers (CEOs) averaged $1,464
weekly, compared with $2,122 for men.
One reason for this is Motherhood
Motherhood Penalty – Motherhood has a significant
negative lifetime impact on female income which
creates long term gender earning gaps
Motherhood has a tremendous negative lifetime impact
on earnings.
Lamanna, M.A., Reidmann, A., & Stewart, S. (2015). Marriages, families, and relationships: making choices in a diverse society (12th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth
Late Week Tonight with John Oliver:
Wage Gap
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps
B1e-1BB4Y
Discussion Question #1
Question for the Males in the Class:
If you were in a situation where you found
out that your counter part was earning less
money then you, simply because they are
female would you bring the issue up?
Discussion Question
Con’t
If you brought it up and your boss told you
that they could make it the same but that
would mean a small wage decrease for you,
would you agree or go forward with it?
What if this women was your Mom, or
your sister?
Unique Stressors to Women
Women have fewer higher status positions, are
less upwardly mobile and in general have lower
salaries
Women are more likely than men to face pay
inequity, sexual harassment, underutilization of
skills (under-employment), and sex
discrimination in performance
All of these have been associated with a variety
of stress symptoms
FAMILY
Although many mothers remained at home
while their children were small, in 1970 half
the wives with children between 6-17 earned
wages with todays mothers returning back to
work by the time their child is 3
The superwoman: A good wife and/or
mother attaint career success and supports
her children by herself
Unpaid Family Work
Unpaid Family Work – Involves caring for
dependent family members such as elderly
or children as well as maintaining the family
home
During this same time period, men’s
housework more than doubles from 6 to 13
hours per week
Con’t
Women average 2 hours daily to house work
where husbands have 1 hour as well as women
spending more time caring for the children more
then the dad
Many unpaid family labours such as this go
unnoticed
Kin Keeping – Maintaining contact, remembering
anniversaries and birthdays, sending gifts etc.
Women’s Dual Role
Despite their increased visibility in the labor
force, women are still seen as primarily
responsible for the family and its well-being
Women also see themselves as the individual
who looks after the family and oversees their
care
Women ’s well being is affected more than men
by their family and spouse satisfaction
Women and Stress Levels
Women’s workload is higher than men when taking
into account work and home work hours
workload increases with the number of children in
the household increases (and even more so if the
children are young)
Given the demands on women when combining
employment and familial roles, many women
experience inter-role conflict and/or role overload to
a greater extent than men
This conflict has implications for their health
What’s Needed to Address This
Issue?
1. Adequate Wages – Raising the minimum wage above federal
mandates that doing so not only improves workers lives
2. Quality, Affordable Elderly/Child Care – Workers retire early to take
care of elderly parents or their children
Child Care – Fulltime care and education of children under 6,
care before/after school and overnight care
Tag Team – When parents exchange child care and work roles
daily
Relative Child Care – Grandparents taking care of the child due
to the parents busy work schedule
Paid Child Care – Paid nonrelative child care that can be;
1. In Home Caregiver
2. Family Child Care
3. Centre Care
Paid Child Care Concerns – The cost can be
very high as well as not being able to meet
parents needs from the care giver
3. Family Leave – An employee able to take an
extended period of time from work for the purpose of
caring for themselves or others
Family Medical Leave Act mandates up to 12
weeks of unpaid family leave for workers
Many also give 1 week paid for maternity leave
World's Toughest Job
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=
HB3xM93rXbY
Discussion Question #2
Do you think that child day
care should be cover by the
government?
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
Any physical, sexual, psychological, or financial
abuse attempted by one’s current or former
intimate partner.
1 in 3 women experiences intimate partner
violence during her life (United Nations, 2006).
25% of all Canadian women experience
violence by their marital partners (Health
Canada, 1993).
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
7 % of women reported being physically or sexually
victimized by their spouse in the last 5 years
About 17% Canadians reported experiencing
emotional or financial abuse from intimate partners
Intimate partner violence, including both spousal
and dating violence, accounts for one in every four
violent crimes reported to police.
(2009 General Social Survey)
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
35% of female college and university students
reported that they had been physically abused
(Health Canada, 1999).
Majority of studies note that 1 in 3 college women
are physically abused by a male partner
(Anderson & Danis, 2007).
Many male university students, indirectly and/or
directly, support their peer’s abusive conduct
(DeKesserdy & Schwartz, 2000).
Gender in IPV
Distinct victimization experiences for men and women (Johnson &
Dawson,2011)
Frequency and severity greater for female victims (AuCoin 2005;
Tjaden &Thoennes 2000).
In 2009, 46,918 spousal violence incidents reported in Canada,
81.2% of these incidents were committed against women
Women continue to outnumber men nine to one as victims of
assault by a spouse or partner (Health Canada)
Types of Abuse
Physical abuse
Sexual abuse
Psychological abuse
Emotional abuse
Economic abuse
Theoretical Approaches
O’Neil (1998) categorizes theories of IPV
in five discourses as follows.
Pathology
Learned behaviour
Normative social system
Expressive violence
Instrumental power
Feminist Sociopolitical Approach
IPV is a controlling behaviour.
IPV creates and maintains male dominance and
imbalance of power between partners.
Wife abuse is an instrumental power strategy approved
by the socio-cultural context of patriarchal institutions.
Types of Patriarchy:
Structure
Ideological
Patriarchy
The United Nations Secretary General’s report
(2006) “All forms of violence against women”
notes:
Violence is used to maintain the hierarchical
gender roles fashioned by patriarchy
Systemic gender inequality and women’s
subordination are institutionalized by patriarchal
ideology.
Psychological Consequences of
Violence (1)
Fear, hypervigilance, low self-esteem, self-blame,
safety issues, difficulty sleeping,uncomfortable
with sexuality, body image, and nightmares.
Psychiatric Illnesses
Anxiety disorders, eating disorders, depression,
substance abuse, suicide attempts, and self-harm,
74% more likely to use sedatives and 40% more
likely to take sleeping pills than women not
assaulted. (ARF;Groeneveld & Shane, 1989)
Psychological Consequences of
Violence (2)
Meta-analysis (Golding ,1999) suggests following
prevalence rates among female IPV victims.
48% for depression
64% for PTSD
18% for suicide
suicide 12 times more likely to have been attempted by
a woman who had been abused by a spouse than by a
woman who had not been abused (United Nations 1989)
Physical Consequences of Violence
Bleeding and/or bleeding or internal organs
Bruising: pattern bruises, symmetrical bruises,
bruises in varying stages of healing
Injuries to face & head, dental damage
Perforated eardrums
Broken bones
Burns (stoves, appliances, acids)
Physical Consequences of Violence
Bleeding and/or bleeding or internal organs
Bruising: pattern bruises, symmetrical bruises,
bruises in varying stages of healing
Injuries to face & head, dental damage
Perforated eardrums
Broken bones
Burns (stoves, appliances, acids)
Cost of Abuse
Justice Canada: Spousal violence in Canada costs
over $7.4 billion in 2009
Major proportion: intangible costs, pain and
suffering for victim and family members
Tangible costs: Health care, Criminal justice
system, Social services , lost income
Spousal Violence Attrition Pyramid
Responding to Abuse
Therapy
Leave the Relationship
Go to a shelter
Therapy (1)
Abuser
Feminist Psychoeducational Model
Rooted in Patriarchal Societal Beliefs
Cognitive-Behavioural Model
Consider intimate partner violence to be a learned behaviour
Leaving the Relationship
Does not stop the abuse.
Harass, stalk, and harm the woman even
resulting in homicide (Browne, 1987; Walker, 1989; Walker &
Meloy,1998).
70% of the reported injuries from domestic
violence occurred after the separation of the
couple (Liss & Stahly, 1993).
Barriers to Leaving (1)
Economic necessity
Isolation from friends, family, community support,
resources
Fear of retaliation; of being alone
Threats: will commit suicide
hurt their partner/children, other loved ones and/or pets,
take the children away
Lack or resources or information about available resources
Barriers to Leaving (2)
Love and concern for partner’s well-being
Hope/belief that partner will change
Culture/ religion/ family pressure
Shame and guilt
Depression
Barriers to Leaving (3)
Belief that the abuse is their fault
Immigration: fear of deportation without
partner’s support, fear of separation from
children, law enforcement
Children; desire to provide them with a twoparent home, custody concerns
Shelters (1)
Provide for basic living needs, including
food and childcare for mother and
children
Limited time stay
Helps to start a new life
Shelters (2)
Connect to various services and resources such as
Legal help
Counseling
Support groups
Services for children
Employment programs
Health-related services
Educational opportunities
Financial assistance
Conclusion
Leaving only a first step.
Many factors determine if a woman and her children
can make a new life or will return to the abusive
relationship.
Emotional and practical support appears to have
the greatest effect on psychological and physical
well-being.
Need still is far greater than available services.
Jackson Katz: Violence against women—it's a
men's issue
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElJxUVJ8blw
&list=PLOGi5-fAu8bE-aLWVPo-bdb5DPatsyJx&index=3
Discussion Question #3
Do you Agree with Jackson Katz
Statement that Intimate Partner
Violence is a Men’s Issue too?
Why or Why not?
Discussion Question #4
What topics or issues do you think
have not been investigated? What
do you think should be explored
more? Why?
Reference
Lamanna, M.A., Reidmann, A., & Stewart, S. (2015). Marriages,
families, and relationships: making choices in a diverse
th
society (12 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth